How we reassure accounting students that AI won’t take their jobs

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape the accounting industry, students increasingly worry about their careers. Many fear that AI could replace human workers. As educators, we must help them understand its likely role in their future workplaces.

Understanding AI’s role in accounting

AI can automate routine accounting tasks, enhance data analysis and improve decision-making processes. It is reshaping the profession by enabling more efficient data processing and providing deeper financial insights. 

A practice-led approach can ease anxiety and provide a realistic understanding of AI as a tool that enhances, rather than replaces, human capabilities. By engaging in discipline-specific, hands-on learning opportunities via questionnaires, interviews, reflection, critical debate and coursework, students can gain insights into AI’s applications in the workplace. 

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We took students to accounting firms to interview professionals about how AI is impacting the industry. These visits were open to students who expressed interest and 13 volunteered. Each interview involved between three and five students. 

The planning, execution and post-activity involved: 

Designing interview questions and identifying discussion topics: we designed questions to educate our students on how digital tools have impacted auditing processes. They included: 

• “Do you use the following digital tools: blockchain, machine learning, data mining, natural language processing or AI in your daily work?” 
• “How do you feel the above tools suit each audit phase: client investigation, risk assessment, control testing, substantive testing and analytical procedures?

These questions not only align with audit learning outcomes but also clear students’ doubts.

Interviewing accounting professionals in their workplaces: students interviewed nine partners at nine accounting firms of different sizes to gain a comprehensive view of AI applications across the industry.

Setting expectations: we communicated our area of focus to the firm representatives beforehand to facilitate the smooth recruitment of interviewees.

Prioritising students’ safety: two faculty members and an administrator oversaw and supported each visit.

Designing post-visit tasks: reflective practices encourage students to critically analyse their experiences and apply insights to future situations, which is integral to experiential learning. We asked students to summarise the key points from the interviews and faculty members to write a 10-20 page report featuring all of the interview content. We gave students who were unable to participate a copy of the report. 

We also organised debates on the impact of AI on the accounting industry based on insights gained from the visits. Reading the report beforehand helped students to explore multiple viewpoints and strengthen their critical thinking skills. Discussion prompts included: 

• “During which auditing phase would it be better to use AI?” 
• “What are the risks of auditors using AI in their daily work?” 

Finally, we developed written evaluation coursework for students to complete based on their visits. This can be broken up by sub-questions that encourage students to delve into more detail, deepening their understanding of how AI is being used in the workplace while at the same time alleviating career anxiety caused by such technological advancements. 

Questions to consider include:

• How does AI application in audit work impact audit efficiency and cost? 
• What ethical and audit risks are associated with AI applications? 
• What AI skills do future auditors need? 
• What is the outlook for AI use in auditing? 

Grounding education in real-world experiences helps students build both practical skills and a nuanced understanding of technology’s role in their future careers. By embracing this practice-led approach, accounting educators can give students the tools and confidence to succeed in an evolving field, equipping them to meet future challenges with resilience and adaptability. 

While this project focused on accounting, the approach can be applied across various disciplines facing technological disruption to teach students an important lesson: AI augments human capabilities, rather than replaces them.   

Peng Cheng is a senior associate professor and head of the department of accounting; Zhiying Huang is a senior teaching fellow at International Business School Suzhou (IBSS) and a fellow of CPA Australia; Yue Jiang is a senior teaching fellow at IBSS and director of postgraduate studies; Shi-Min How is an associate professor at School of Management & Business, MILA University, Malaysia.

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